Percy/Behind the Scenes
Background Information Green Caterpillar The Reverend W. Awdry and C. Reginald Dalby did not get along very well. Awdry considered Dalby's drawings "toy-like"; this relationship was worsened by the creation of Percy. When Percy the Small Engine was published, Awdry wrote to Dalby, criticising his illustrations and claiming Percy resembled "a green caterpillar with red stripes". This was too much for Dalby and he promptly resigned. However, the insult was not forgotten: Thomas called Percy "a green caterpillar with red stripes" in Tramway Engines as well as the televised episode Woolly Bear. Arrival It is debated as to what year Percy arrived. The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways states that Percy was made the station pilot at Tidmouth in 1949, somewhat implying that he arrived on Sodor in that year. However, Henry is said to have been rebuilt in 1935 and Percy makes several appearances before Henry's overhaul. This suggests that either Henry was rebuilt later on or that Percy arrived before 1935. A post on SiF states that Christopher Awdry affirmed the arrival date in The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways to be incorrect and that Percy came to Sodor before 1935. Behind the Scenes Awdry's models Percy was kit bashed from a Larko Dockland saddle tank body kit and 'Spare Percy' from a Tri-ang 'Nellie'; in the 1979 annual Awdry wrote: "I built Percy in 1949 (the year I wrote "Troublesome Engines" - the book in which Percy first appears), and I soldered him together out of brass and other parts cut and filed to shape. I wanted another engine - Thomas was then the only one I had - and I also wanted a model of Percy to help our then artist draw his pictures; but the artist didn't pay much attention, so my Percy - the proper one - looks different from the Percy in the books. Stewart Reidpath made a chassis for me and fitted it with one of his motors, so Percy is sometimes as temperamental as Thomas, and for the same reason. He will run and shunt beautifully for weeks on end and then suddenly, and for no apparent reason, decide to be 'awkward'. This can be exasperating, especially at exhibitions. He did this at Nottingham Exhibition 1978, and the only thing to do then was to use my 'Spare Percy' which I had made for just such an emergency. To make 'Spare Percy' I cut out the boiler and side tanks from a Tri-ang 'Nellie', and filled the resulting space between the cab and smokebox with a section of saddletank cut from an Airfix kit. The outside cylinders came from another Airfix kit, and were cemented to 'Nellie's' metal frames with Evostick. I fitted scale size wheels in place of 'Neillie's' rather clumsy ones, and filled up the body with plasticine. The good wheels and extra weight has made 'Spare Percy' into a smooth running engine almost as good as the real Percy in his best moments". File:LARKO 1950 advertisment .png|Extract from the February 1950 issue of 'The Model Railway News' File:percyrm.jpg File:PercyMkI.jpg File:Tri-ang R355 Nellie .png|Example of the Tri-ang Nellie that went into 'Spare Percy' File:Rosebud Kitmaster J94.png|Example of a Rosebud Kitmaster J94 that provided the boiler and saddle tank for 'Spare Percy' File:percy-rev-layout.jpg|'Spare Percy' Gauge 1 model Percy’s model was custom built to run on gauge 1 track for the first series. The model was built from perspex. It was painted using glossy car body paint and lined with red Prostripe automotive tape. The numbers were custom printed stickers. Percy’s wheels were sourced from a modified gauge 1 BR 80 locomotive made by Märklin. The front bufferbeam was sourced the tender of a BR 55, and the rear bufferbeam was sourced from a BR 78. File:PercywithMilkTankers.PNG File:JamesandPercyBehindTheScenes.png File:Percy'sFacemask.jpg|Percy's sleeping facemask File:Percy'sModelSpecification.PNG File:PercySeason5Promo.png File:PercyFrontModel.png File:PercyModelRear1.png|Rear of Percy's model In the second series episode, Ghost Train, the model was reused as Percy's Ghost Engine. The model was covered in white streamers represent a ghost. File:GhostTrain2.png|Percy's Ghost Engine During the production of Thomas and the Magic Railroad another model of Percy was built. This was because the original model had been repaired and repainted so many times the crew was afraid some of these imperfections would be seen on the big screen, and the model needed to be in top condition for intense use during filming . The new model was made out of brass and painted in matte paint. It was equipped with a CNC machined aluminum chassis and the bufferbeam details were built from scratch. The original perspex model was also repainted in matte paint and fitted with a new CNC chassis during the sixth series, however it would now only be used in scenes that would damage or ruin the brass model . One of Percy’s new chassis did not have counterweights (this error transitioned onto his CGI model). During the production of the tenth series another brass model of Percy was built due to the perspex model being 22 years old at this point and the tight filming schedules meant there was very little room for emergency repairs . File:ThomasAndTheMagicRailroad557.png|Percy's brass model File:MiddleEngine31.png|Percy's CNC chassis without counterweights File:ThomasandPercySeries6Models.jpg All of Percy’s gauge 1 models were track powered, so pickup contacts were attached to the metal wheels, which ran into the motor to power it. The electricity ran from the track to the wheels/pickup contacts and went into the motor to power him. The models were also fitted with a smoke unit. The eye mechanism had two servos, one for up and down movement and one for left and right movement. The up/down servo was attached to the body. The left/right servo had a rod attached to the arm, which connected to a bracket. The eye balls were coupled to the bracket and locked in by the face-plate, so whenever the servos were powered, the eye balls would move however the crew member desired. 18 different facial expressions were sculpted for Percy. The faces were first sculpted in clay and from that resin casts were made of a silicone mould. Some of Percy’s faces were duplicated in case the crew needed to a face to look dirty and clean on the same day of shooting. One of Percy’s faces is now owned by twitter user ThomasTankMerch. The twelfth series marked the beginning of the show's transition into CGI and the characters' faces were animated through CGI with the aid of motion capture animation. The physical models' molded faces were replaced by white targets with triangles to fix a computer-animated face in post-production. Percy’s resin faces were only used in background shots. File:HenryGetsItWrong34.png File:PercyandtheBandstand56.png File:BestFriends59.png Percy’s gauge 1 models had gone through several aesthetic changes in the television series: *Series 2 (only): **His left side piston was loose and would shake violently when moving. **His centre lamp iron was heavily glued in. *Series 3: **His whistle changed shape (now being more like Gordon or Henry's). *Later in the series, his whistle sound would be his own but in a whole step lower in pitch. **His two front sandboxes were flipped around. *Series 4: **His whistle sound changed back to its original pitch. **His smokebox was raised up. **In some episodes towards the end of the series, one of the two black sections extending from under his smokebox to the end of the footplate is missing. *Thomas and the Magic Railroad: **He gained a permanent lamp. **He gained a stand underneath his smokebox. **The lining on his pistons was moved slightly inwards. **His eyebrows change shape. *Series 6: **His cab was blacked out (except for cab shots filmed on a larger model). Percy has been seen mistakenly wearing Thomas’ tired facemask in Diesel Does it Again and Percy's Big Mistake. File:DieselDoesItAgain5.png File:Percy'sBigMistake5.png Thomas has also been seen mistakenly wearing Percy's tired facemask in Thomas Goes Fishing and Thomas and Bertie. File:ThomasGoesFishing30.png File:ThomasandBertie27.png One of Percy’s models is currently on display in Japan at the Hara Model Railway Museum. It had previously been on display at Nitrogen Studios. File:Display Case (9).png File:PercyHaraModelRailwayMuseum.jpg File:ThomasPercyandJamesmodels.jpg The Pack model During the fifth series the production team were having discussions about scaling up the models to gauge 3.5. Models of Thomas and Percy were built to this scale for testing, but the production team ended up deciding to stick with the gauge 1 models. File:BrittAlcroftandDavidMittonbehindthescenes.jpg Percy’s model would later be used to be used alongside the models of the Sodor Construction Company vehicles, which had to be larger than the gauge 1 models in order in fit in all the components required for filming. The model was made from brass. The wheels and chassis were custom machined (CNC). The model was track powered, so pickup contacts were attached to the metal wheels, which ran into the motor to power it. The electricity ran from the track to the wheels/pickup contacts and went into the motor to power him. The model was also fitted with a smoke unit. The eye mechanism had two servos, one for up and down movement and one for left and right movement. The up/down servo was attached to the body. The left/right servo had a rod attached to the arm, which connected to a bracket. The eye balls were coupled to the bracket and locked in by the face-plate, so whenever the servos were powered, the eye balls would move however the crew member desired. Six different facial expressions were created for the Pack model, although only four were used on screen. The faces were first sculpted in clay and from that resin casts were made of a silicone mould. File:Percy'sScaryTale24.png|Percy of pack series having red stepladders and green dome File:PercyHelpsOut48.png File:PercyHelpsOut52.png File:There'saJobforEveryone12.png File:TheGreatDiscovery389.png File:JamieThomason.png In the twelfth series the physical models' moulded faces were replaced by white targets with triangles to fix a computer-animated face in post-production. File:PercyandtheBandstand12.png File:PercyandtheBandstand64.png The model was used in the twelfth series, Jack and the Sodor Construction Company and The Great Discovery. The Pack model has had many modifications from its gauge 1 counterpart. These include: *Jack and the Sodor Construction Company **The step ladders on his running board are painted red. **His whistle is taller than his cab. **His dome is painted green. *The Great Discovery: **The dome was repainted gold. *Series 12: **The stepladders were repainted green. Percy’s Pack model is currently on display in Japan at the Hara Model Railway Museum. It had previously been on display at Thomas Town. File:ThomasTownPercy'sLargeScaleModelFromThePack.jpg File:Percy'sLargeScaleModelHaraModelRailwayMuseum.jpg Close-up models File:PercyRunsAway23.png File:PercyandHarold30.png|Recycling Thomas' cab File:PercyandHarold31.png|Recycling Thomas' cab File:Percy'sPromise38.png|Recycling Thomas' cab File:Percy'sPromise44.png|Recycling Thomas' cab File:JackFrost49.png|Recycling Thomas' cab File:Percy,JamesandtheFruitfulDay33.png|Cab exterior shell, made for Series 3, last used Series 4. File:Percy,JamesandtheFruitfulDay38.png|Recycling Thomas' cab File:SpecialAttraction24.png File:SpecialAttraction25.png File:SpecialAttraction28.png File:SpecialAttraction28(AlternateShot).png File:Baa!41.png File:Percy'sChocolateCrunch42.png|Close up prop, complete with custom cab controls, used Series 5-12 File:PercyAndTheOilPainting50.png File:PercyandtheBandstand13.png CGI model File:Head-OnPercyPromo.png File:PercyinTheGreatRailwayShow3.png File:PercyinTheGreatRailwayShow4.png File:PercyinTheGreatRailwayShow5.png MeettheSteamTeamPercy12.png Voice Actors * Michael Angelis (Thomas and the Magic Railroad; original workprints only) * Linda Ballantyne (Thomas and the Magic Railroad) * Keith Wickham (UK; Hero of the Rails - Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure, excluding the nineteenth series) * Nigel Pilkington (UK; nineteenth series onwards, excluding Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure) * Martin Sherman (US; Hero of the Rails - eighteenth series) * Christopher Ragland (US; nineteenth series onwards, UK singing voice; The Great Race) * Chisato Nakajima (Japan; first-eighth series) * Chie Kōjiro (Japan; Calling All Engines! onwards) * Anders Sundstedt (Norway; Hero of the Rails - seventeenth series, excluding King of the Railway) * Erik Skjøld (Norway; King of the Railway and Tale of the Brave only, excluding the seventeenth series) * Ingve Connolly Gran (Norway; eighteenth series onwards) * Frédéric Millaire-Zouvi (French speaking Canada; Thomas and the Magic Railroad) * Tony Marot (France and French speaking Canada; sixth series onwards) * Mattia Nissolino (Italy; twelfth-eighteenth series) * Chiara Oliviero (Italy; nineteenth series onwards) * Diana Santos (Latin America; Thomas and the Magic Railroad) * Gabriel Gama (Latin America; Thomas and the Magic Railroad; TV Version) * Javier Olguín (Latin America; Hero of the Rails - The Great Race, excluding the twentieth series) * Héctor Ireta de Alba (Latin America; twentieth series onwards, excluding The Great Race) * Frank Schröder (Germany; Thomas and the Magic Railroad) * Robin Brosch (Germany; Hero of the Rails onwards) * Achim Schülke (Germany; Audio Books only) * Grzegorz Drojewski (Poland; Hero of the Rails onwards, excluding Samson at Your Service) * Jarosław Domin (Poland; Samson at Your Service only) * Reinder van der Naalt (The Netherlands) * Yehonatan Magon (Israel) * Troells Toya (Denmark) * Bruno Marçal (Brazil; Hero of the Rails onwards) * María Rubio (Spain; Hero of the Rails - seventeenth series) * Carmen Gambín (Spain; Tale of the Brave onwards) * Taisto Oksanen (Finland; Hero of the Rails onwards) * Szokol Peter (Hungary) * Radovan Vaculík (Czech Republic; seventeenth series onwards) * Olga Kuznetsova (Russia) * Um Sang-hyun (South Korea) * Adam Fietz (Sweden; Hero of the Rails onwards) * Haris Grigoropoulos (Greece) References Category:Behind the Scenes Category:Images of Percy Category:Images from behind the scenes